


Outreach

by BunniesofDoom



Series: shattered mirrors [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Caretaking, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Ruby knows that she can't keep going like this.
Relationships: Lie Ren & Ruby Rose, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Series: shattered mirrors [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088174
Kudos: 49





	Outreach

**Author's Note:**

> Just going to keep writing for this while the idea won't leave me alone, and hopefully I'll be able to get back to working on other projects. Enjoy!

Yang wasn't expecting to find Ruby like this when they were reunited.

Whatever state she'd expected to find her sister in, it wasn't this. She stares in shock as her eyes take in the assortment of bruises, the splinted fingers, the bandages around her ribs, and of course—her missing left arm. None of them are in great shape after blowing up Salem's whale—especially Oscar, but still, Yang has never seen her sister this bad off.

Even after Beacon, when Ruby had been in a coma, she still hadn't looked this fragile, this pale and beat up.

Ruby smiles sheepishly and waves slightly. Her sister, for her part, stands frozen, stunned into silence. "Hey, Yang," she says hoarsely. "When'd you get here?"

The dark circles under Ruby's eyes have only grown since they've split up, Yang notices. Before she can think too much about it, she finds herself lunging forward to hug her sister. Not her usual crushing bear hug, as Ruby is obviously in no shape for that, but a firm yet gentle embrace.

Even as Yang tries to be careful, she can hear her sister hiss under her breath, pushing her away slightly with her good hand. "Ribs, Yang," her sister says quietly.

"Right!" Yang pulls back immediately, looking her sister up and down one more time. She doesn't like what she sees. "Ruby, what happened to you?" They've only been separated for a couple of days. How could so much have changed already?

Her sister chuckles softly. "It's—a bit of a long story."

"It sounds like we have a lot to catch up about," Weiss says, hovering awkwardly a few steps behind them. "Why don't we all have a talk?"

They all gather around one of the counters in the expansive kitchen of the Schnee Manor. The members of Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Jaune huddle close together, relieved to be reunited, while the newcomers, Marrow and Emerald, hover reluctantly around the edge of the group. Oscar is recovering one of the guest rooms, upstairs, and Ren had insisted on staying by Nora's side.

Despite her injuries and obvious exhaustion, Ruby had insisted on joining the rest of them downstairs. She'd insisted on trying to walk, but had ended up being half-carried by Blake and Yang as they made their way through the house. (Yang had insisted on carrying her down the stairs.) Now Ruby sits slumped in a chair next to Yang. She must be in a lot of pain—Ruby is usually pretty stoic when she's hurting, but the absence of her typical chatter is a dead giveaway that she's not feeling great.

Yang is impressed with how different Ruby's reaction is to hers when she lost her arm. When Yang had woken up after the Fall of Beacon, all she'd wanted to do was sit around and mope. Ruby seems determined not to let her injury slow her down at all. Sure, Yang had been devastated by Blake leaving, but she's still impressed at her sister's resolve.

They take turns exchanging tales of what happened while they were separated. Yang and Jaune tell the others about their attempts to help with evacuation, Oscar's abduction, finding the river of Grimm, and finally rescuing Oscar and blowing up the whale. Marrow and Emerald occasionally chime in with extra details.

When Yang brings up the fact that the Grimm that took Oscar could speak, Ruby looks oddly triumphant. "What is it?" Yang asks, shooting her sister a puzzled look.

But Ruby isn't paying attention to her, too busy staring down Weiss and Blake. "I told you guys it was real!" She turns back to Yang. "Sorry, I'll explain later."

Next, Penny talks about their infiltration of the Atlas base (her words, not Yang's) obtaining the launch code, and fighting the ace ops before leaving for Amity. She tells them about launching Amity, fighting Cinder, sending out the broadcast, and then losing control and falling, ultimately crashing outside the Schnee Manor.

Finally, Blake and Weiss talk about retreating to the Schnee Manor to look after Nora, watching the broadcast, finding Penny in the yard, and then being attacked by Cinder. Ruby stares at the far wall of the kitchen as she talks about her encounter with Dr. Watts and the strange talking Grimm, and the aftermath.

Yang can tell that there's more that her sister isn't telling her, but Ruby doesn't seem to want to share any more details than necessary.

They're all very surprised when Emerald, who has mostly kept quiet as the rest of them talked, chimes in. "That sounds almost like—" She starts suddenly, cutting herself off when she notices that everyone is staring at her. "Sorry, I was just thinking out loud."

"What were you going to say?" Ruby asks, fixing Emerald with a firm look despite her obvious exhaustion.

"Well." Emerald pauses, pursuing her lips and looking down at her lap to avoid Ruby's sharp gaze. "I was just thinking that that sounds a lot like Cinder's Grimm arm. For whatever it's worth."

They all take a moment to digest that statement. The implications aren't exactly cheerful.

"So that's why she's vulnerable to my silver eyes," Ruby says quietly, a thoughtful look on her face. It breaks the temporary silence that's fallen over them.

"So, what should we do next?" Marrow asks, finally voicing the question that's on everyone's mind.

"We need to go after my dad," Penny pipes up immediately. "Amity was drifting when I fell. He and Maria could be in danger."

"What about Qrow?" Weiss points out. "Didn't Harriet say something about Ironwood having him in custody? We should try to find him as well."

Ruby sighs heavily and steps in before an argument can start. "Guys, we can do both. There's enough of us now that we can split up and still be safe."

"It's getting pretty late," Blake says, gesturing to the dark sky outside the windows. "Why don't we all get some rest and try to come up with a proper plan in the morning?"

Ruby knows that she can't keep going like this.

Ever since the others arrived, the storm of emotions buzzing under her skin has only grown in intensity. It makes it almost impossible to concentrate. But who can she talk to about this? Who would even know enough to be able to help her?

Professor Ozpin is the first person to come to mind, but . . . Even if he wasn't hiding from them, Ruby isn't sure if she can trust him. While the former headmaster would know the most about Grimm and what might be happening to Ruby, she's just not sure if she can believe anything he would tell her. For all she knows, he might lie to her, or use what's happening to her for his own plans.

She hates to be so mistrustful of someone that she once looked up to, but unfortunately that's just the way things are now.

But—there is one other person who might be able to help her with her problem. Someone whose semblance revolves around emotions, and who had recently gained the ability to see the feelings of others.

She makes a mental note to talk to Ren as soon as possible.

Between her injuries and the annoying background hum of feelings that aren't her own that she's still adjusting to, it takes Ruby a long time to fall asleep. And when she eventually does drop off, her dreams are once again unsettling, filled with blood and strange creatures prowling in the darkness. She wakes several times throughout the night, heart pounding and gasping for air. Each time she opens her eyes, she sees her sister watching her in the dark, worry written all over her face.

It's comforting, but also Yang should really be sleeping. She tells her sister as much, but she has a feeling that her advice is getting ignored.

Every time that Yang watches her in concern, the worry that Ruby feels—the worry that isn't her own—seems to spike in response. She's too tired to try to think about what that might mean, or if there's a connection.

The next time she wakes, the sky outside is starting to lighten and the sun is just starting to peek above the horizon. Ruby doesn't think that she's going to get any more sleep, so she slowly, carefully rolls out of bed and tries to get to her feet. It takes her longer than she would like, but once she's up she feels much steadier than she did last night. She'll take it.

She makes her way down the hallway as quietly as possible, stopping when she reaches Weiss' bedroom. Ren is sitting by the bed, keeping watch over Nora as she sleeps. He hasn't left her side since he and the others arrived yesterday. He looks up when he hears Ruby's footsteps in the doorway.

"It's awfully early for you to be up," he says quietly. "I don't remember you being much of a morning person."

"You're right, I'm not," Ruby replies. "But this is important. I need to talk to you about something."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.


End file.
